The Benefits Of Indoor Soccer

If you are a fan of North American soccer, you probably hate it when October rolls around and the Major League Soccer season is finished. However, at this point the NFL and NBA seasons are firing up, which tends to take your mind off the problem. However, if you actually play the game, winter is a pretty desolate time, since there is little or no outdoor soccer activity – especially in northern states, where there is snow on the ground. You can feel all your training slipping away from you, and just know it is going to be a tough job to get back in form next year.

Therefore, this comes as one of the biggest benefits of indoor soccer. It’s a perfect place to keep your ball skills honed to perfection – or as close to perfection as they ever are. No longer do you have to relearn half of what you know in the spring – instead, you can be pretty close to match shape after a couple of weeks. Of course, indoor soccer isn’t the same as playing outdoors, but in the absence of the real thing, it’s a pretty good substitute.

Actually, indoor soccer is a good place for people to learn about the game in general. Playing indoors can be a more casual and less intimidating affair than getting out on the field, and so it tends to attract more casual participants who then often evolve into full-fledged players. The same applies to kids – indoor soccer is a good introduction, and the timing lines up well with the school year. In fact, it would be interesting to know how many kids that ended up playing pro soccer started out playing indoors.

The other nice thing about indoor soccer is that it makes reuse of existing sports facilities. There are essentially two variants of this. The first is when the game is played on a larger arena which is about the same size as an ice hockey rink – and often is an ice hockey rink covered with artificial turf. The other variant is when it is played on a basketball court, although this can be a bit difficult to do on a traditional hardwood surface. On the other hand, a high-performance polymer surface works well both as a basketball court and as an indoor soccer venue.

If you are interested in playing indoor soccer, then here are a few things that you should know. First of all, a normal indoor soccer game has 6 players per side, as opposed to 11 in outdoor soccer. Second, the game isn’t played over two 45-minute halves – instead, amateurs play two 25-minute halves, and the pros play four 15-minute quarters. Third, you’re allowed to bounce the ball off the boards around the arena – this isn’t out of bounds. Last, there is no offside rule, although in some games it is illegal to loft the ball from one penalty area to another. If you understood all that, then you know enough about indoor soccer to give it a go ahead – so why don’t you?

Cricket: Australia Beat India in Mohali, Lead ODI Series 2-1!

MS Dhoni

Team India got thrashed by 72 runs in the first one-day international against Australia in Pune thanks to its listless batting display with nobody managing to dig in there or failing to convert good starts into big scores. Team India thrashed Australia by 9 wickets in the second ODI in Jaipur thanks to its incredible batting display involving just three of the top order overhauling a mammoth total of 359 runs and giving India their biggest ever victory against Australia. Team India failed to clinch the third ODI in Mohali today despite strange tactics adopted by Australian batsmen and a huge target set thanks to the incredible Captain Cool Mahendra Singh Dhoni making an unbeaten 139 runs off 121 balls. Common to all these three ODIs of the 7-match one-day Series between India and Australia has been India’s bowlers or rather pacers persistently failing to deliver the results desired by their captain, particularly Ishant Sharma and Vinay Kumar continuing to struggle.  India’s consistent strike pacer in recent times, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar too seems to lose the touch.

Cherishing some more green patches in the Mohali pitch promising more pace and bounce Australian captain Bailey put India in after winning the toss and his tactic almost paid rich dividends reducing India to 76 for 4 in the 13th over with heroes of the Jaipur encounter Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma failing and Yuvraj Singh out first ball. Continuing to dominate Australian bowlers made India reeling at 154 for 6 in the 32^nd over and at that juncture a total of 280 or 300 became a distant dream. But Dhoni crafted a magnificent fight-back hitting just one four in his first 67 deliveries and ending up with 12 fours and 5 sixes in his unbeaten knock of 139 off 121 balls. Virat Kohli gave him good company with another useful knock of 68 after his match-winning unbeaten 100 runs off just 52 balls (his fastest) in the Jaipur encounter. With all-rounder Jadeja being the sixth out at 154 Dhoni had to carry on with his bowlers at the other end and what a breathtaking job he did to achieve the most unlikely target of 304 runs for Australia. Dhoni was dropped by the Aussie captain in the penultimate over and that ensured Australia chase in excess of 300.

Indian bowling inadequacies came to the fore again with the Aussie openers starting strongly notching up 68 runs in the 13^th over. But then, Indian pacers seemed to have found some inspiration with Vinay Kumar having Hughes (22) out caught at the same score and shortly after Ishant Sharma getting the dangerous Finch (38) out leg before making it 82/2 in the 17^th over. Run making suddenly became difficult and Jadeja chipped in with a tight spin spell capturing the prized scalp of Shane Watson (11). At 88/3 in the 20^thover Australia was in spot of bother with the required run-rate climbing all the time. Australian batsmen did not seem to realize the urgency and did not take enough risks almost giving away the match to India at 174/5 in the 37^th over.

James Faulkner

Always attacking, Haddin came in and things improved rapidly. Finally it was the explosive partnership for the sixth wicket between Voges (76 not out) and James Faulkner (64 not out off just 29 balls) that turned the tables on India as Australia sailed through by 4 wickets with three balls to spare. For his match-winning blitz James Faulkner was named the Player of the match. 

The Scorecard:

No.2 Australia lead the series 2-1 now and need to beat No.1 India 6-1 to regain the No.1  spot. Team India must concentrate of fielding good enough bowlers capable of defending at least 300+ totals. Else, the top five Indian batsmen must hit at least three centuries every time and post at least 350+ totals so that the Indian bowlers get a real chance.  

Crimes Against Women: Anti-Corrupt Braveheart Punished With Gangrape!

The shocking incident happened in the backdrop of newly recruited lady teachers being posted haphazardly in different places of Assam totally ignoring rules for ensuring women safety. Rules say that women should not be posted more than 5 kilometers away from their home.

One such lady appointee got posted in a primary school somewhere in Darrang district of Assam far away from her home. The lady teacher had to join for the sake of her family. Immediately she noticed that the school authorities were misusing the funds meant for providing free midday meals and for months the school children were deprived of their rightful meals so important for so many needy families. The lady teacher decided to raise her voice against such brazen corruption. She failed to imagine what that rogue principal of the school was capable of doing to her in retaliation.

She got gangraped in broad daylight while returning to her temporary place of accommodation. The sordid details came to light and widespread protests broke out in that area and all over Assam in the next few days. The gruesome crime was condemned, stringent punishment was demanded for the corrupt school officials and the issue of postings and women safety came to the fore.

Assam has a relatively tolerant society and a tranquil, almost lazy, way of life. In this perspective it is hard to believe that in recent years Assam has been topping the charts of crimes against women, with its figure almost double of the national average. This is a matter of grave concern coupled with the unceasing ethnic clashes arising mainly out of the Bangladesh illegal immigration issue and consequently the increasing pressure on limited land.

The continuing protests led by the All Assam Students Union (AASU) forced the state Government to reconsider posting of women teachers. As per latest developments many affected lady teachers have been transferred to their hometowns or nearby places including the gangrape survivor.

Peace and tranquility must be restored to this beautiful state along with purposeful economic development. Women must get their respect back in this land of Shakti--where Goddesses have been worshipped for ages. What better time to ensure this than now when Durga Puja is being celebrated all over. Goddess Durga is identified as the destroyer of evil and of rogues/ruffians (Asur)!